Hosted Events

“Mr. Hyphen is fun, tongue-in-cheek, kind of camp but there’s a serious message. Asian men don’t get a lot of love in mainstream media.” – Melissa Hung, founding editor

“This is about changing the view in the American mind and the American culture about what is the Asian American man.” – Helen Zia, Asian American activist, journalist, and scholar

Since 2005, Hyphen hosts an annual competition that turns beauty pageants upside down and not only beauty pageants but how the public audience views and conceives Asian men and masculinity. “Mr. Hyphen” scouts out attractive Asian men in all senses, talented, funny, charismatic, leaders, who are committed to not just hard work but also community activism. It rewards those whose involvement goes over and beyond; the winner receives $1000 for the non-profit organization he represents. The competition takes place at a theatre with a massive audience; it can be described as a high-energy pageant meets fashion-and-talent show as well as a charity event. (Source)

Promotional video for Mr. Hyphen 2010

HIGHLIGHT EXAMPLES OF OTHER EVENTS:

Short Story Competition

Earlier this year in April, along with The Asian American Writer’s Workshop, Hyphen put together a national pan-Asian contest for up and coming writers to introduce their work in the public. After narrowing down the contestants to ten finalists, the judge panel will choose one winner, who will receive the following prize: $1000 cash prize, publication in Hyphen, one-year subscription to the magazine, and an one-year membership to AAWW, the American non-profit dedicated to Asian American literature. The other finalists will also receive a one-year subscription and membership to AAWW as a prize. Anyone can apply except for previous employees, volunteers, and consultants of Hyphen. Short works must not be previously published and if part of a novel, must stand alone as a separate work.

Slant Film Festival

For the past ten years, Slant Film Festival focuses on bringing bold Asian American images and short films to the big screen. Established by Melissa Hung, Slant “showcases an eclectic mix of the work of aspiring, emerging, mid-career Asian American artists,” depicting fresh experiences of Asian Americans. It is one of the oldest film festivals dedicated to Asian American film and art in Texas. (Source)

Promotional postcard for 10th Annual Slant Film Festival

Panel Discussion: The Next Generation of Asian American Comedians

Co-hosted with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC), Center for Asian American Media, and Kearney Street Workshop, this panel discussion earlier this year exchanged dialogue on the advent of stand up comedy with the growing popularity of Asian American comedians such as Margaret Cho and Dat Pham. A panel of five speakers from vastly different backgrounds with three local Asian American comedians: one an Indian Jew, another a Korean-American young woman, and lastly a young Chinese American man, a professor from Laney College whose thesis was on multiracial comedians, and the moderator who worked for KQED, reporting on Asian American and Asian issues for the past decade. For two hours, the five looked at whether or not mainstream exposure has changed their perceptions of Asian Americans in stand-up comedy. They also inquired whether “comics play off or subvert audience expectations and media-driven stereotypes.” And if they do, “how do these stereotypes, and comics’ personal identities, shape their material, performances, and careers?” (Source)